A Change Of Scene
by Princess Oxymoron
Summary: Sam is adjusting to ranch life after her accident and two year interlude and sometimes she gets nightmares because she hasn't gotten her confidence in horses back yet but she's trying,every day and pretending to be fine.. But Jake knows how she bottles it up and doesn't talk about it,So on one of her bad days,he takes her meet his friends,Finn and Zoe Harries..


It was the beginning of the day,the sun dawning over the peaceful ranch.  
A cock crowed somewhere waking the animals to the new day,it's crow ringing over the morning silence that was more uneasy than peaceful.  
The crow was an unwelcome alarm if there ever was one. Inside the large ranch house,Sam stirred in her sleep,mumbling something incoherently. Suddenly she started kicking,her sheets tangling in her legs and her eyes fluttering open frantically yet not awake "Blackie!"  
Sam screamed,terror mounting in her voice "No!" "Come back,!" Sam started kicking and struggling more frantically "No!" her voice turned into a sob "Please don't do this to me!" Sam cried and- "Sam!" Jake Ely's voice pulled her out of her nightmare and she woke with a start.  
Sam blinked and shook her head as she tried to focus . _it was just a nightmare_ she thought _but it felt horribly real_

Sam groaned and buried her head in her pillow forgetting Jake was there for a moment.

She'd been getting nightmares about her accident occasionally but it wasn't often it got this bad where she had actually screamed. She guessed it was just because she was adjusting to the ranch again and getting flashbacks sometimes when she saw Jake on Witch or when she opened the gate when she was riding.  
It was exactly a month since she was back from San Francisco and Aunt Sue would freak if she knew about any of this so they'd been keeping quiet about it but Sam was still confused and feeling totally messed up about it. In her nightmare, Blackie had thrown and kicked her because Sam had spurred him out of ill judgement then he'd turned on her and suddenly his herd was behind him and she could hear a thousand hoof-beats behind her and they would get closer and closer and Sam would cry and wake up before the dream ended. It was so awful and draining that Sam felt like she'd gotten no sleep at all.

Jake looked at Sam,his best friend since forever and bit his lip.  
He was concerned and tried to conceal it now as she hugged her pillow without acknowledging him.  
Sam's occasional nightmares were scary to see,but that wasn't what was worrying him, he thought as he took in her matted hair and tearstained face ,it was more that she was bottling it all up since she came back because she didn't want them to give them the impression she couldn't handle this so she just pretended she was fine. But Jake saw the flashbacks in her eyes sometimes and how nervous she was around horses. He sighed. It would be so much better if she just talked about it and let him share it with her but she was too darn stubborn and she had the red hair to match and also,he didn't want to push things

They were still getting used to each other again after past two years and some things that were perfectly acceptable before,like him sleeping over or teasingly asking if she fell for a San Francisco guy,would be totally awkward now.

Her head shot up,startling him out of his reverie "What are you doing in my room?"  
Sam asked, her voice strained and she rubbed her eyes hard as if trying to rub away the tiredness. He shrugged "Thought I'd get you up so we can go for a ride then I heard you and I couldn't just leave you to it"  
He certainly wouldn't tell her that Wyatt had suggested that he and Sam do something fun today to distract her a bit,and Jake had agreed.  
Sam had her bad days and today was one of them so the best thing to do if she wouldn't talk to him was to keep her busy.  
"Not in the mood for a ride" she mumbled,pushing back her quilt and stretched somewhat self consciously and got up,  
he'd have to find another way to spend the day with her then,he got up from his seat on the corner of her bed,  
knowing he looked comical in her feminine room and that she usually didn't like him to come in it.

"See you at breakfast,ok?" he nodded,"Just going to get dressed.." she hesitated for a moment "Please don't tell anybody?" the look on her face was pleading and her eyes begged him.  
_Bloody femme fatale_,he thought,_I had every intention of telling Wyatt till now and yet Sam managed to wrap him round her finger without trying,he wondered for a moment if he had some sort of..crush? On his friend?_

"Fine." he huffed "but I'm not really happy about it" She thanked him profusely as he walked out the door.

* * *  
Later when he was lying in bed,he thought about the day.  
he'd taken her along to his friend, Finn's house. Finn had a pool,a rarity in the area seeing that it was hot and dry. Sam had never met the harries before because she'd been in San Fran when they moved to Nevada,they were originally from London but Finn's dad wanted to start a ranch all his life so here they were.

Finn was a cool guy and one of the most popular in Darton High and even Rachel Slocum had a crush on him but Jake knew him well and really,Finn liked to flirt but he was a pretty sincere guy and loved his english riding. he had been attracted to Zoey and there was some chemistry between hadn't paid attention to see whether Sam and Finn had designs on each other because he was too smitten with Zoey.

in fact that it wasn't anything romantic he felt for Sam,he thought now,she'd had that effect from the time he was seven and she'd fallen off one of the horses because she tried to ride bareback and she begged him not to tell anyone because she would get into trouble. his thoughts began to drift as he thought of feminine charm and he drifted off into a dream about Zoey and him that surprised him when he woke up...


End file.
